Ursae Minoris is new project involving live electronics and live video projections. The three part composition is by Claudio Baroni, and Argentinian/Italian composer living in Amsterdam. All the material of the composition is derived from a transcription of star maps. This composition method has been used by John Cage for his famous piece Atlas Eclipticals: the stars where transcribed in agglomerations of pitches to be executed as precisely as possible in a time/space notation. The innovative technique by Baroni allows instead a certain freedom of execution among these: pitches are notated one after the other and are meant to be played in loops. In the second movement these loops can start and end from any point of the “series” and vary their length. Baroni has assigned a different technique to each of these pitches (ordinario, ponte, spiccato, legno, glissando, jetè ricochet etc…) creating a kaleidoscopic variety, which give to this movement a virtuoso character. The first movement uses a special technique which consists in beating the string with the metal part at the end of the frog of the bow. This percussion stimulates two sound: one relative to the notes pressed by the left hand and one to the position of the string on which the bow is percussing. The whole movement consists of glissandi, in which left and right hand are independent. Each bar is then looped by a loop station. The third and last movement examines the “series” playing always two pitches at time in a tremolo technique: starting from a very light flautando (balayage harmonique according to the Radulescu) raising to a over pressure circular bowing at his climax, which is reached by the middle of the movement. Each Bar is also looped by a loop station. The whole composition can have variable lengths; so far we have performed mostly durations around 1 hour.
The video projections by Joost Rekveld simulate the passage of the light (of the stars) through the atmosphere. This is generated live, and interacts and dialogues with the music.
Perfomance list:
1 Oct 2016 21:30-23:00 hr Weekend v/d Wetenschap: Sterrenwacht Copernicus, Haarlem
15 Oct 201622Hr Dag in de Branding Festival: Paard van Troje, Kleine Zaal, Den Haag
29 Oct 2016 15 hr Festival Sounds of Music: Groninger Forum Hereplein, Groningen
12 Nov 2016 17:00 hr November Music Festival: Verkadefabriek Kleine Zaal, Den Bosch Tickets
Jan 2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam: The Worm/Scapino, Rotterdam
Mar 2017 Nationale Sterrenkijkdagen: Sterrenwachten door Nederland
For more information please visit the Website of Stichting Solaris:
Dario Calderone 